Hoping to convince wary Iraqis that Saddam Hussein¡¯s eldest sons had been
killed, the US military on Thursday released photos of the corpses of Odai and
Qusai Hussein.

A combination picture shows
two photos of Uday Hussein, in an undated file photo (L) and after his
death (R), released by the U.S. government in Baghdad on July 24,
2003.[Reuters]

A combination picture shows
two photos of Qusay Hussein, in a file photo and after his death (R,
released by the U.S. government in Baghdad on July 24, 2003.[Reuters]

The photos were released as coalition forces were warned to expect an
increase in the attacks that have killed numerous soldiers ¡ª including three on
Thursday who died when their convoy was hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled
grenades in northern Iraq.

The two photos showed the men from the chest up ¡ª one on bloody white sheets,
the other in what appeared to be a body bag ¡ª with blood caked on their faces.
Both men, with heavy beards, had their eyes closed, the lids darkly bruised.

One appeared to have a gash across his blood-splattered face and contusions
on his forehead.

In addition to the photos, the military released photos of Odai and Qusai
when they were alive for comparison and X-rays of Odai, who was injured in a leg
in an assassination attempt in the 1990s.

The release of the photographs was a move by the military to convince
skeptical Iraqis that the feared brothers were dead. Many Iraqis, especially
Saddam supporters, believed the story of the brothers¡¯ killing was concocted by
the U.S. military to demoralize opponents of their occupation of the country.

U.S. President Bush hailed the deaths of Saddam¡¯s sons. ¡°The careers of two
of the regime¡¯s ... henchmen came to an end,¡± Bush said Thursday. ¡°Now more than
ever, the Iraqis can know that the former regime is gone and is not coming
back.¡±

SKEPTICISM PERSISTS

But some Iraqis remained skeptical of the authenticity of the photos.

¡°I'm not convinced the pictures shown are of Odai and Qusai, and even if they
were, I¡¯m not happy. I would have been happy if they were captured alive and
brought to justice before the Iraqi people,¡± said Shant Agob, 37, an accountant
who saw the photos broadcast.

While some in the Arab world criticized the United States for releasing what
they believed to be fake photographs, others argued that even if they were
authentic, releasing them violated standards the United States itself had
championed.

¡°When Iraq broadcast photos of dead American soldiers, the U.S. considered
that against human rights,¡± said Jordanian political analyst Sahar al-Qassem.
¡°So, why are they violating that now by showing such inhumane pictures?¡±

A military spokesman said journalists would be allowed to film the bodies for
themselves Friday to dispel any doubts the photos were authentic.

CRITICISM OF PHOTO RELEASE

While some in the Arab world criticized the United States for releasing what
they believed to be fake photographs, others argued that even if they were
authentic, releasing them violated standards the U.S. itself had championed.

¡°When Iraq broadcast photos of dead American soldiers, the U.S. considered
that against human rights,¡± said Jordanian political analyst Sahar al-Qassem
said. ¡°So, why are they violating that now by showing such inhumane pictures?¡±

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld defended the decision at a Pentagon
briefing, saying, ¡°This is an unusual situation. This regime has been in power
for decades. These two individuals were particularly vicious individuals. ...
They are now dead. ... The Iraqi people have been waiting for confirmation of
that, and they in my view deserve having confirmation of that.¡±

Middle East television stations, magazines and newspapers regularly carry
images of the dead and dying - often Arab victims of Israeli-Palestinian clashes
- that are more graphic than photographs carried in U.S. media. Saudi Arabia and
Iran occasionally publicly execute criminals, saying Islam allows such displays
as a deterrent.

Vice President Dick Cheney used the release of the photos to bolster the
administration¡¯s defense of war against Iraq.

Had the Bush administration not acted, Saddam and his sons would still be in
power, torture chambers would still exist, mass graves would still be
undiscovered, terrorists would still have a safe haven in Iraq and Saddam would
still have vast wealth to finance weapons programs, he said Thursday.

¡°Knowing these things,¡± Cheney said, ¡°how could we, I ask, have allowed that
threat to stand? These judgments were not lightly arrived at. And all who were
aware of them bore a heavy responsibility for the security of America.¡±

Ignoring threats posed by Saddam would have been ¡°irresponsible in the
extreme,¡± Cheney said.

Soldiers are still dying in Iraq, and the administration is on the defensive
about its justification for going to war.

L. Paul Bremer, the U.S. administrator of Iraq, told a Pentagon news
conference Thursday that the deaths of Saddam¡¯s sons ¡°will in fact in time help
reduce the security threat to our forces.¡±

¡°In the initial period I would not be surprised to see an uptick in violence
against our forces,¡± he said, but in the long run the deaths would likely
encourage Iraqis to give authorities tips about other members of the Baath
Party.

VIDEO THREAT

The threat of more attacks on U.S. troops came in a videotape aired by Arab
satellite broadcaster al-Arabiya. One of three masked men claiming to be with
the Saddam Fedayeen vowed revenge for the deaths of Odai and Qusai Hussein.

¡°We want to say to the occupation forces: They said last night that killing
Odai and Qusai will diminish (resistance) attacks, but we want to say to them
that their death will increase attacks against them,¡± one of the men read from a
statement.

The Fedayeen militia was once led by Odai. Coalition officials have
repeatedly blamed former militia members for some of the attacks on U.S.
soldiers.

The statement did not refer to the latest attack, in which three soldiers
from the 101st Airborne Division were killed Thursday. They were traveling in a
convoy toward Qayyarah, 186 miles north Baghdad, when they were at attacked,
said Spc. Nicole Thompson.

No soldiers were wounded, and it wasn¡¯t known if any of the assailants was
killed or wounded, she said. A pair of rocket-propelled grenades and an AK-47
rifle were later found.

The 101st participated in Tuesday¡¯s raid on a house in Mosul where Saddam¡¯s
sons Odai and Qusai were killed, along with a bodyguard and a teenager believed
to be Qusai¡¯s son.

The soldiers¡¯ deaths brought to 158 the number of U.S. service members killed
in action since the war began March 20, surpassing by 11 the death toll in the
1991 Gulf War.

¡®REMAINING HOLDOUTS¡¯

Odai and Qusai were Nos. 2 and 3 on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted members
of Saddam¡¯s regime.

So far, two-thirds of the most-wanted Iraqis are in custody or dead, but
Saddam himself is thought to be alive and in hiding.

Odai, 39, and Qusai, 37, were second only to their father in power in the
ousted regime.

NBC News correspondent Richard Engel was among the first to view the photos,
and said the men appeared to have tried to disguise their identities, partly by
growing long beards and, in the case of the man identified as Odai, shaving his
head.

VOICE ON TAPE LIKELY SADDAM¡¯S

Meanwhile, the CIA has concluded that the voice on an audiotape that surfaced
earlier this week urging Iraq¡¯s former soldiers to rise up against the United
States is likely that of Saddam, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The technical analysis conducted by the CIA adds to a growing body of
evidence that has led U.S. intelligence to suspect the Iraqi dictator survived
the U.S.-led war that ousted him from power.

¡°Although it cannot be determined with absolute certainty, the CIA¡¯s
assessment after a technical analysis of the tape is that it is likely Saddam¡¯s
Hussein¡¯s voice,¡± said the official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

The voice on the audiotape urges Iraqis to fight occupying U.S. forces,
saying the war was not over.

¡°Our will will not surrender and won¡¯t be defeated. The battle is not over
yet,¡± said the tape, which was addressed to Iraqi armed forces.